Sigh of Relief: Doc Rivers Signs 5 Year Extension

Phew. I will be honest, I am still bumming about the Celtics game 5 loss. I haven’t watched SportsCenter since Wednesday because I can’t stand to see LeBron James’ mug on there and don’t have the tolerance for anymore LeBron love. Today, I can finally rest a little easier knowing that the man that brought us to the promise land, Doc Rivers, is coming back for at least 5 more years. This according to CSNNE and Greg Dickerson:

The team’s director of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, told CSNNE’s Greg Dickerson that Rivers has reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Celtics will pay Rivers $35 million over that period.

After being eliminated by the Heat in the second round of the playoffs, Rivers stated that he was “leaning heavily” towards coming back. The length of the contract, however, comes as a bit of surprise. Rivers has taken the last couple of years on a year-by-year basis, stating numerous times that he eventually wanted to take time off and spend it with his family. Many assumed that he might ride out the Big Three era and part ways, but the new extension proves otherwise.

Doc just finished his 7th season as Celtics head coach, and currently has the 3rd most regular season wins by a coach (336) behind Red Auerbach (795) and Tommy Heinsohn (427).

His coaching career as a Celtic has been nothing short of a roller-coaster. Rivers wasn’t always as highly regarded as he is now, and was in fact a lot of fans’ target during the Celtics franchise worst 18-game losing streak before Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen came to town.”

There’s a lot of question marks going into this off-season. We aren’t even sure there will be a full NBA season. Either way the Celtics will have some crucial decisions to make and it all starts with Danny Ainge. Resigning Doc Rivers is a great start in the right direction and gives Celtics fans something to look forward to during these tough times.